Posted on 05/14/2006 6:42:38 PM PDT by Flavius
MMAN, Jordan (AP) -- Saudi Arabia's oil minister warned Arab producers Sunday not to expect continued growth in prices and demand for oil.
Ali al-Naimi said prices could plummet if an economic crisis drives industrialized nations to find other sources of energy, citing the 1980s -- when oil prices dropped by 80 percent after such nations reduced their dependency on oil and turned to alternative energy sources.
Global economic growth may not continue at the same good momentum for years to come," al-Naimi said at the opening of a four-day conference of Arab energy ministers in Amman. "We should be careful and not take expectations as indisputable, especially the continuation of big demand for oil and its prices remaining at the same level or increasing," he said.
Al-Naimi also cited the Asian economic crisis of 1997-1998, when oil prices fell by 50 percent, slowing Arab oil production.
"Some are even concerned about a looming economic problem because of the increased policies of economic protectionism, or what is known as economic nationalism," al-Naimi said, referring to Western countries' determination to become less dependent on Middle Eastern oil.
Sixty percent of the world's oil reserves lie in Arab countries, one third of global production comes from Arab sources and 40 percent of all oil business is conducted by Arabs, he said.
Global oil prices fell but finished last week roughly $2 a barrel higher, as traders' concerns about geopolitical threats and refinery snags outweighed evidence of rising supplies and forecasts calling for weakening global demand.
Crude futures dipped toward $72 a barrel Friday after the International Energy Agency reduced its 2006 world oil demand forecast. Earlier in the week, the U.S. Department of Energy said domestic gasoline supplies increased for the second straight week.
Still, oil prices are about 48 percent higher than a year ago, a reflection of the market's fear about real and possible output disruptions at a time when the world's supply cushion is perilously thin. Only Saudi Arabia has any spare production capacity, but it is less than 2 percent of the daily global demand of almost 85 million barrels and not the high quality crude that refiners prefer, analysts said.
U.S. retail gasoline prices average roughly $2.89 a gallon, or about 70 cents more than last year.
Then how do you get the Hydrogen back out? To release the Hydrogen gas from the Hydride, it simply needs to be heated. This is either done electrically, using the waste exhaust heat, or using the waste radiator coolant heat.
the thing that sort of worries me is how much 401k is in the energy sector.
A market correction is being predicted.
****cough***** biodiesel *****cough*******
A DJ drop of 200 or more tomorrow would not be the greatest prelude to the President's evening speech on border security. It will be an interesting Monday for sure.
When the buyers go into rehab the pushers are hurt.
This, rather than the so-called "hybrid" is the current wave of the future.
If 401k's are heavily invested in the energy sector, they benefitted handsomely over the last 12 months. Maybe it is time for a correction in the energy sector but it is surely not time to correct a market in a booming economy.......
There was a FR thread some months ago (like maybe six) in which a leading Saudi (it may have been the head sheikh) was asked if the world was running out of oil. He answered "no," and then made a most interesting statement, to the effect that "the world will still have plenty of oil even after the industrialized world no longer needs it." These are not his exact words, but I'm quite sure I'm getting his meaning right.
Company link?
I think i've heard about this before, and it has something to do with eXPENSIVE RARE materials.
I have a 1935 Minniapolis tractor built to run on gas or alcohol. I guess it's a "hybrid" too.
Thanks
Very interesting , but note NOTHING is currently available except a solar panel and fuel line.
Is that an old 2 cycle engine?
The first International Diesel tractors were hybrids as well. You started the engine on gas and switched it to Diesel.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.